Granite School District board president Nicole McDermott is running for a seat on the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). She faces Democrat Araueni Olivares in the District 8 race on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Mail ballots go out Tuesday, Oct. 13.

The District 8 seat covers parts of Taylorsville, Kearns and West Jordan. Granite School District, which serves Millcreek-area families and roughly 55,000 students across about 80 schools, falls within the district's boundaries. Christina Boggess has held the seat since 2022 but announced she would not seek re-election. In a January social media post, Boggess said she was "done lending my name, my vote, and my silence to a broken, corrupt and morally bankrupt system," KUTV reported. Her term ends in January 2027.

McDermott, a Republican, serves as Granite School District board president. Her board term runs through Dec. 31, 2028, according to the district's website, meaning she would hold both seats simultaneously if elected. Before joining the board, she spent 25 years teaching music and orchestra in the Granite and Jordan school districts.

Olivares, a Democrat, supported multilingual learners at Granite School District and has worked in education roles at several other districts, according to a Salt Lake Tribune voter guide published Monday, Oct. 12. He has worked for the Utah Department of Workforce Services for the past 14 years.

On the Utah Fits All voucher program, McDermott said public funds require strict accountability and that any entity receiving tax dollars should meet the same academic standards as public schools. She said unless those measures are met, "public money should remain funding public entities." Olivares called the program harmful, saying it diverts education funds to private school tuition and homeschooling. He cited $95 million in spending, mostly on private school tuition.

On immigration enforcement, the two candidates found common ground. McDermott called schools "protected areas" under federal policy and said, "Our job is to educate, not police." Olivares said students cannot learn effectively "if school becomes a place where they fear losing a parent."

The candidates diverged on what they see as the biggest challenge facing Utah public education. McDermott pointed to "non-experts pushing one-size-fits-all solutions," along with attendance, declining enrollment and behavior issues. Olivares identified teacher shortages and increasing workloads, calling for investment in "all the people who make our schools work."

Mail ballots must be dropped off at a ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3. Ballots returned by mail must be received by the county clerk by 8 p.m. that day.